Jesse Marsch released his 23-man November CanMNT roster this morning, and while it may be short on surprises, it does have several players returning to the fold from the last international window.
Returning after having been given the previous September–October window off for personal reasons are goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, centre-back Joel Waterman, and left back — or is that left winger — Alphonso Davies. Also returning to the squad is midfielder and Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio.
The most curious selection is the first call-up for the highly touted Kevin Khan. The 18-year-old defensive midfielder is currently in the Feyenoord youth system and has yet to play any senior football with the Eredivisie club.
CANMNT Squad Named for 2026/27 Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinals Against Guatemala 🍁
— CANMNT (@CANMNT_Official) November 3, 2026
The matches will close out a landmark 2026 for #CANMNT, following the program's historic run to the Round of 16 at FIFA World Cup 2026.
13 Nov 🇬🇹 v. 🇨🇦 - Guatemala City
16 Nov 🇨🇦 v. 🇬🇹 -… pic.twitter.com/ttUiG231Gy
Goalkeepers:
- Maxime Crépeau
- Owen Goodman
- Dayne St. Clair
Defenders:
- Richard Chukwu
- Alphonso Davies
- Luc de Fougerolles
- Jovan Ivanisevic
- Richie Laryea
- Ralph Priso
- Niko Sigur
- Joel Waterman
Midfielders:
- Tajon Buchanan
- Mathieu Choinière
- Kevin Khan
- Liam Millar
- Jonathan Osorio
- Nathan Saliba
- Jacob Shaffelburg
Forwards:
- Jonathan David
- Promise David
- Daniel Jebbison
- Tani Oluwaseyi
- Jacen Russell-Rowe
Eight players, excluding retired Junior Hoilett and all-but-retired Sam Piette, are not returning from last month. They include the recently injured Stephen Eustáquio, Jeevan Badwal, and Cyle Larin. The leadership of Eustáquio and Larin will be particularly missed.
Also not returning from last month are James Pantemis, Luca Petrasso, Marcus Caldeira, Theo Corbeanu, Justin Smith, and Jamie Knight-Lebel. The absences of the latter three are somewhat surprising given the continued voids for Canada at right wing, central midfield, and centre-back.
With just two games against Guatemala, it was not surprising to see only 23 players called into camp. Marsch has also indicated he wants to bring more youth into the national team setup, and the inclusions of Khan and 18-year-old Richard Chukwu attest to this.
However, including 34-year-old Osorio runs counter to Marsch's lean towards youth, especially when younger players in senior professional football like Corbeanu, Smith, and Knight-Lebel were not called back to fill positions where depth is thin this window.
Les Rouges play on 13 November in Guatemala City before returning on 16 November to Toronto for the return leg of the two-game Concacaf Nations League quarter-finals. The winner advances to the semi-finals in March at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
